This invention provides meat products. More particularly, the inventions provides the meat products possessing plasma-cholesterol-level suppressing property and favorable texture and taste.
Malignant neoplasm, heart and cerebrovascular diseases have been recognized as three major causes of adults"" death of late. Particularly, the number to suffering from and the number of deaths of patient due to ishemic heart diseases including cardiac infarction tends to increase. Basal diseases of the ishemic heart diseases are arterial screlosis and hyperlipidemia (particularly, hypercholetsterolemia). Increases in amount of animal-fat consumption have been regarded as one of the causes of these diseases. According to a Japanese nutrition census carried out in 1992, the increment of animal-protein consumption was praised, but problems caused by the increment of animal-fat consumption as well as that of the energy-intake ratio due to it was pointed out.
To suppress plasma-cholesterol level by diet, it is important to limit the intake of cholesterol and animal fat themselves. It has been well known that plasma-cholesterol levels depend upon the intake of not only dietary fat but also of protein. It has been reported that intake of vegetable protein, particularly soy protein, suppresses plasma-cholesterol level.
As described above an excessive intake of meat products may cause the ishemic heart diseases. However, the meat products are protein-rich, easy-to-eat, delicious and durable foods. The meat products, particularly sausage, contain 10-30% fat, which contributes to supply energy and contributes properties such as texture and taste characteristic to the sausage.
From these viewpoints, it has been desired to develop meat products, in which the fat content is reduced without reducing the flavorabde characteristics of the meat products. For such purposes, the meat products with less fat content have been developed. However, no meat product with favorable texture and taste has ever been developed.
Reduction of the contents in the meat products may be ones means to prevent the ishemic heart diseases. However, more positive measures to suppress the plasma-cholesterol level have been desired.
The present invention was accomplished on the basis of such a background. The purposes of the invention were to develop the meat products with reduced fat contents, plasma-cholesterol-level properties and conventionally accepted favorable texture and taste.
The present invention provides meat products, of which the fat content is less than half of that of conventional meat products. The addition protein with plasma-cholesterol-suppressing properties, is characteristic of the meat products of the invention.
Another invention is a method comprising administration of the above-described meat products to man.
By reducing the fat content and fortifying soy protein with plasma-cholesterol-level suppressing properties, the meat products of the invention can improve plasma lipid levels of man. Moreover, the meat products of the invention possess characteristically favorable texture and taste.